floe
Floe (noun) means a floe is a flat, low mass of ice floating on the surface of the sea. Example: “The ship threaded its way between drifting floes.”
How to use floe
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA floe is simply a flat chunk of floating sea ice.
Floe is a specialist but not especially formal word, common in writing about polar regions and sea ice.
Floe and flow sound identical when spoken, so rely on spelling and context to tell them apart in writing.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The ship threaded its way between drifting _____.
Etymology
Floe first appeared in English in the early nineteenth century. It probably comes from the Norwegian Nynorsk word flo, meaning a layer or slab, which itself goes back to the Old Norse fló, also meaning layer.
